Bentley Continental T

• Incredible find!
• Just under 23,800 miles from new
• One of only 217 left hand drive Continental T’s built world wide
• Special order Carmine Red with two-tone St. James Red and Black interior
• Engine turned dashboard
• Complete with copies of factory records and lengthy service history
• The fastest Bentley available in 1997

Finished in special order Carmine Red coachwork with St. James Red/Black Connelly hide, Black Wilton carpets throughout the car. Red and Black top roll combined with a matching gear stick and steering wheel trimmed in the same hide – exquisite. The unique finished engine turned aluminium creates a cockpit-like interior that is reminiscent of the great Bentley racing heritage.

Order on 3rd January 1997 and to be delivered to Don Massey Cadillac INC, this example had been one of the first LHD cars to run off the factory line. Completed 3 months later and shipped across the Atlantic to NY, over the course of the next 25 years the T covered just 23,800 miles which equates to only 952 miles per year since its delivery. Fitted with Matrix Grill, Sedanca alloy wheels really sets this car apart from pack, in total there where 321 cars built world wide and in period it had been the most expensive car in the world – to add to its global importance. On file we have the factory build sheets, books and invoices from 2004 to the present day. 

The stance says everything, the Continental T is a machine – Under the bonnet, is a 6.75 litre turbocharged and intercooled V8 engine that is tuned to develop 297 kW (400 bhp) and a staggering 800 Nm (590 lb.ft) of torque. Huge 285/45 tyres on 18-inch diameter wheels fill the flared wheel arches, offering a glimpse through their vanes to fully-powered, vented anti-lock disc brakes. The T’s shortened wheelbase, wider track, firmer front subframe mounts, stiffer rear trailing arms and lower, stiffer springs mark the point of transition from effortless grand tourer to a driving machine that demands and rewards commitment. Inside the cockpit, the hard gleam of the engine-turned aluminium dash offers a bold contrast to the tactile softness of the leather upholstery. You turn the ignition key, but the engine stays silent. Only when you reach forward and push the starter does the turbocharged V8 spring into life. Both the engine-turned dash and the starter button recall the all-or-nothing character of racing Bentleys past, but no Bentley has ever before been able to boast the Continental T’s out-and-out performance. Switchable traction control allows the Continental T’s massively powerful engine to unleash a 0-60 mph time of under six seconds, with a governed top speed of 155 mph. On de-restricted autobahns and private tracks, the sensation of full-throttle acceleration from 90mph upwards is astonishing in its urgency.